1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a centralized arbitration process, as well as a centralized arbiter for a multiprocessor system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is known from the article on pages 154 to 158 of the April issue 1978 of the review "Computer Design" an arbitration device for a multiprocessor system comprising several identical processing units, all connected to the same bus. This known arbiter, of a synchronous type, enables a rotator priority between the different processing units to be established so that none of them monopolizes the bus, and so that the processing achieved by the multiprocessor system is as rapid as possible. The known arbiter comprises essentially a ROM (read-out memory) in which are programmed all the possible configurations of requests for reservation of the bus and of corresponding states.
The size of this ROM depends on the number of processing units cooperating therewith. If the number of processing units is not very high, the capacity of the ROM required for forming the arbiter is correlatively low, and the arbiter is then inexpensive and easy to produce. On the contrary, if the number of processing units is high, several memories must be used, and the constructon of the arbiter becomes complex and expensive.